Brownsville Man Fears Damaged Fence Could Cause Explosion, Wants it Repaired
BROWNSVILLE – A Brownsville family is looking for answers to repair a damaged fence they feel is threatening their safety.
Ulyses Amar said it's only a matter of time before the cinder block fence gives out, and breaks the gas meter it's now pushing up against.
"This for us is very critical, and as you can see it's dangerous because as soon as this wall or fence collapses onto the gas meter, I'm afraid there's going to be an explosion,” he said.
Amar said he's concerned because this is where his parents live. Neighbors also echo those concerns.
"I'm worried that this thing is going to explode!" neighbor Mike De Los Santos said.
Amar said Texas Gas Service is asking his parents to repair the fence or allow them to move the meter to the inside of their property.
The estimated repairs are about $5,000. He said it’s money his retired parents don't have.
Amar puts the blame on the city of Brownsville, for work city crews allegedly did there 10 years ago.
"While the city of Brownsville was doing some repairs, they punctured a Texas Gas Company line on the ground,” he explained. “So, TGC had to come out here and repair it, while the City of Brownsville was doing repairs of their own here."
Amar showed CHANNEL 5 NEWS a letter from Texas Gas Service. It states the city called them to the home to repair a gas line that was accidentally hit.
Texas Gas Service goes on to state it's not their responsibility to fix the fence.
We reached out to the Brownsville Public Utilities Board to find out if it was their crews that did work there 10 years ago.
BPUB spokesman Ryan Greenfield said the board is required by law to report when a gas line is hit.
Greenfield, after checking work orders 10 years back, said there's no record of BPUB crews doing work there.
We also reached out to the City of Brownsville about these claims. Amar showed us a letter that he sent to the assistant city manager.
Brownsville spokeswoman Roxanna Rosas said it's not a city issue.
Rosas said Amar should file a police report. She said the city will also be reaching out to TGS to figure out what can be done.
Amar just wants someone to take responsibility, and do what he believes is the right thing to do before it's too late.